Shakespeare in Love John Madden Digital Life DVD

Shakespeare in Love
starring: Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Tom Wilkinson, Antony Sher, Martin Clunes
directed by: John Madden

Used Price: $3.86
Third Party New Price: $23.98

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780788816222
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0788816225
Label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 10, 1999
Running Time: 122 minutes
Sales Rank: 16230
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Theatrical Release Date: January 08, 1999

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
One of the most winning and intelligent romantic comedies of the '90s, Shakespeare in Love is filled with such good will, sunny romance, snappy one-liners, and devilish cleverness that it's absolutely irresistible. At the 1999 Academy Awards, this dark-horse costume comedy sneaked off with seven Oscars, besting the highly favored Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, at its outset the film tracks young Will Shakespeare's overwrought battle with writer's block and the efforts of theater owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, in rare form) to stage Will's latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Most of the jokes in the first one-third of the film are along these lines: Will's anachronistic therapist session, a mug inscribed 'A Souvenir from Stratford-Upon-Avon,' Henslowe's battles to pay off his debts, and the backstage high jinks of pre-production. However, once Will sets his eyes on the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), joking takes a backseat to ravishing romance. Well, almost--turns out Viola wants to break into the world of male-only theater, and disguises herself as a young man to wangle herself an audition. She wins the part of Romeo and, after much misunderstanding, the playwright's heart. Soon enough, Will's pirate comedy becomes a beautiful, tragic romance, and Ethel is shoved aside for a woman named Juliet. Will and Viola's romance, however, is equal parts comedy and tragedy--he's married, and she's betrothed to the slimy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), and it doesn't take an English major to figure out that it's not all's well that ends well.

Like Shakespeare's work itself, the film is instantly accessible to everyone, from the raucous groundlings looking for low comedy to the aesthetes hankering for some intellectual bite behind their entertainment. The way that Oscar-winning screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard enfold their story within the parameters of Romeo and Juliet (and even Twelfth Night) is nothing short of brilliant--it would take a Shakespearean scholar to dissect the innumerable parallels, oft-quoted lines, plot developments, and thematic borrowings. And most amazingly, Norman and Stoppard haven't forgotten to entertain their audience in addition to riding a Shakespearean roller coaster. Director John Madden (Mrs. Brown) reigns in his huge ensemble with a rollicking energy that keeps the film's momentum going at top speed for its entire two hours. Along the way there are small gems to be found: Ben Affleck's riotous egotistical actor, Imelda Staunton's nimble nurse, and of course Judi Dench's eight-minute, Oscar-winning turn as a truly regal Queen Elizabeth. However, the key element of Shakespeare in Love's success rests on the milky-white shoulders of its two stars. Fiennes, inexplicably overlooked at Oscar time, is a dashing Will as we might expect him at the early stage of his career, bundled full of comedy and tragedy but unsure of how to harness his talent. And as for Best Actress winner Paltrow... well, nothing she'd done before could have prepared viewers for how amazing she is here. Breathtakingly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, strong-willed, and lovestruck--it's a performance worthy of Shakespeare in more ways than one. By the film's end, you'll be thoroughly won over--and brushing up your Shakespeare with newfound ardor. --Mark Englehart

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Much Ado about Writing
Writing a play is a tiresome burden when you don't have the faintest idea what it is going to be about but you need to hand it over real soon. Fortunately, Will Shakespeare finds his muse and the authors of the screenplay also had at least a brief encounter with theirs.
Basically a romantic comedy SIL offers much more that the standard "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" scenario - they present it in a fantastically well rendered setting taking as much as they could from the Swan of the Avon.
A perfect way to spend an afternoon - you get your share of romance, adventure, and literary history (the latter should not be taken at face value, however). Do you need more?

Rating:

- Another great classic movie
We purchased this for our daughter's birthday because she has said it is a classic. She loves the movie and we are happy that we were able to find it at Amazon.

Rating:

- Intelligently Written and Passionately Acted
Others reviewers have taken issue with how historically inaccurate "Shakespeare in Love" is, and even if they're right on every count, they're missing the point. This movie spins its own story, giving an improbable yet poignant context to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It's not meant to be a documentary of the writer's life, nor does it boast that it tells a true story. The most history buffs could expect are a few grins here and there, what with the scene Christopher Marlowe plotting out "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter" that nods to the "Shakespeare didn't write his own plays" theory, the inclusion of the sadistic child John Webster, and the many lines of dialogue Shakespeare hears and later incorporates into his plays. These are all quite enjoyable, and should help any uptight history buff to remove the stick etcetera etcetera so they can enjoy this film for what it is.

On the acting side, ... Read More

Rating:

- Improbable plot: Shakespeare was high born
What is interesting about this portrayal of William Shakespeare is that the historical figure was actually descended from the Saxon Earls of Wessex (and potentially from the Saxon Kings). Shakespeare's mother was a de Arden, after all, and the heiress of the hereditary family estate called Kingsbury in Wessex. Hence, it is surely at least ironic that the movie has him competing with the now Norman "Lord Wessex", pitting his Saxon pedigree against a Norman rival of similar rank. I wonder if the writers of the screenplay comprehended the irony (and implausibility) in this fictional rendition?

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